According to the Deputy State Minister, the step of the Government of Georgia stems from the interests of the Georgian state in the first place.

"Exactly this is the reference point in this case. I want to clarify that the law on occupied territories stays in force. There are no talks about its annulment. Also, punishment and criminal responsibility for entering the occupied territories of Georgia from the prohibited directions are not going to disappear either. If we get the law amended, a person violating the law for the first time shall be subject to administrative charges, instead of incurring inadequately severe criminal responsibility of 2 to 4 years of imprisonment, as it is now. The person will also be informed that they are violating the law on the occupied territories of Georgia. If the violation is repeated, the perpetrator will be charged not with an administrative, but a criminal punishment. This will happen also in cases of aggravating circumstances such as carrying out such actions on a regular basis or in a group ", - said Ketevan Tsikhelashvili.

As Deputy Minister explained, in the current edition of the Criminal Code, it is provided that if a person is punished under criminal law, he/she has to be aware of what kind of violation he/she has committed and the law has to be violated intentionally.

"With this legislative initiative submitted to the Parliament, this flaw in the law is going to be corrected as it will be more adequate and expedient. Also, the law should protect sovereignty of the Georgian state, without infringing upon human rights", - said Ketevan Tsikhelashvili

According to State Minister, practice shows that often the foreign citizens punished under the criminal law didn’t have information about existence of the Law of Georgia on Occupied Territories.